What If
by SupremeMasterOverlordKhurro
Summary: What if someone took the shot and killed Dianne before she killed Maeve? This is a series of one-shots centered around Reid and Maeve, an alternate ending to Zugszwang (sp?) Title may change. First chapter is rushed-seeming on purpose, to show how it may have actually felt for Reid that day. Rated T because better safe than sorry. DOES NOT HAVE TO BE READ IN ORDER
1. Safe

**I know I'm not the only one who realized that in the episode Maeve was killed basically the entire team had a clear shot and could have saved her. But I saw the rumor going around that season 11 with focus a little bit on Reid's love-life and so maybe there will be an episode in that season when he's having one those grumpy or sassy moments and points out to the team that they could've saved Maeve, making the whole team feel guilty for not doing it? Maybe something along the lines of…**

 **Morgan: *finds out Reid has a girlfriend* Why didn't you tell us? *says it in the happy/big-brother-teasing kind of way that he talks to Reid in sometimes***

 **Reid: *is tired and grumpy because of the case/lack of sleep/drama involving his mother* Because last time I told anyone that I have a girlfriend, they let her get killed.**

… **anyway….**

 **This is not my main Criminal Minds story right now. The main one is "The Gender Game", which is also mainly about Reid. This is more of a side project.**

 **((P.S. –you should totally read The Gender Game, it's pretty intense *winky face* )**

 _Crack!_ At first, Reid wasn't sure where exactly the gunshot had come from or who was hit. He was much more out of it than he had been in a very long time (last time being a nasty head cold in college that he swore was more like a head flu than a cold), and he should've been more helpful. He heard the crack of the gunshot one second, and the next something was almost falling on him and he was looking into the eyes of a woman he felt he knew so well, though he had only seen her for the first time today. Maeve was there. She was the one sort of falling on him. When his mind caught up, he realized Dianne was on the floor, dead, and Maeve must've stumbled forward when Dianne fell, and he was what had caught her from falling. The relief that swallowed him left him unable to speak, and he couldn't do much more than wrap his arms around her in a tight hug (probably too tight, for a woman who was just almost shot, and for a man with a bullet hole in his arm), and burry his head in her shoulder. She was alive. Maeve was alive. They had found her, and they had saved her, and now he was holding her. He was shaking and didn't hear the footsteps behind him. Apparently, he had been standing there hugging her for longer than he thought. The paramedics were already there, removing the bodies of the two dead, and trying to get Reid and Maeve outside and into the ambulance to get the medical attention they needed.

Even at the hospital, everything seemed to be a blur. Adrenaline and relief and excitement were racing through him faster than he had felt before. Yes, all cases had given him that rush of adrenaline, and the end of the cases always brought on that feeling of relief. But this was so much more intense, more so than the Fisher King case, when he thought for a while that his mom was in danger, and more so than when Tobias and his many personalities had him hostage for two days. None of that could compare to this rush. If he said anything, he didn't remember it. He didn't remember anything that was said, actually. All he knew was Maeve was alive, her stalker was gone, and maybe they had a chance at a life together now. They were cleared from the hospital around 6, and made their way back to the Quantico offices to finish off the reports for the day. About 6:30, they got to the building.

It was around 7:00 PM when the adrenaline finally wore off. After being in a near panic all day, and then that rushing feeling of relief that she was alive, it was no surprise that exhaustion also came at him full force. His eyes were blurring and they hurt the way eyes hurt when you're tired. Frustrated with the blurriness, Spencer rubbed his eyes and dug through his desk for his glasses, before remember he had left in such a hurry that he had forgotten them at his apartment.

In the other room….

Maeve was talking to JJ, who had taken the shot that had killed Dianne. She had wanted to thank her for saving her, but JJ had insisted it was her job to save people. So the topic had turned to Spencer as they watched him from a distance fill out paperwork that they were sure he didn't really want to do.

"So you've been talking to him over the phone for _how_ long?" JJ asked, still unable to comprehend how Spencer had managed to basically have a girlfriend that no one in the entire team knew about it.

"A few months. At first it was just formal medical stuff, but there was something about him that kept me calling him." Maeve shook her head. "I wish I could've seen him under better circumstances for the first meeting though."

JJ nodded in agreement. "It's not a very nice first meeting, but I met my husband during a case, and I can't imagine any other way I could've possibly met him. Some things just happen for a reason I guess."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, watching Reid's frustrated rubbing of his eyes and digging through his desks. Most of the team were also down there with him, filling out reports of their own or teasing each other from across the room. Hotch came down from his office and made his way over to Reid, saying something to him as he flipped through the papers Reid had already finished. The two girls headed down just as Hotch told Reid to go home and get some rest, to finish the paper work tomorrow. He even offered to drive him home.

"I can drive him to his apartment." Maeve offered.

And so she did. She drove his car to his apartment, since her's was still at the warehouse she had a room in. She wasn't sure she really wanted to go back there tonight, not after what had just happened. She could return to her mother's house, but that was a bit of a drive and she wasn't too trusting of taxi drivers right now either.

As if he read her mind, Spencer asked, "Do you need a place to stay tonight?"

"I don't want to be a bother-"

"You're not. I can't see anyone wanting to go back to the place they were ambushed from. You're welcome to stay at my place for as long as you need. I can sleep on the couch, and you'll have the bed to yourself." He interrupted.

"Okay." she agreed. It was hard to argue to with a profiler. "But actually, I think I'd rather share the bed with you, if you're okay with it."

You didn't have to be a profiler to notice the change in body language. "I'm okay with it."

She wasn't sure what it was. Normally, she wouldn't get in bed with a guy she didn't really know. But there just something about him, something safe and comforting and welcoming. She felt she knew him from just their short Sunday conversations, and she felt she could trust him to not rush her. Though in all honestly, she wasn't sure he'd have the energy to even get up the stairs. She pulled into the parking lot he directed her too and followed him up the stairs and into his apartment. It was small and cozy feeling, books lining the many shelves, the TV the perfect not-too-big-not-too-small size, and even the colors of the furniture and rugs gave the whole apartment a relaxing feeling. She had a feeling he had done that on purpose. He locked the door behind her and showed her to his room, pulling out a T-shirt and a pair of comfortable pajama pants for her to wear. She got changed in the bathroom, while he pulled on pajamas in the bedroom.

Once they had both crawled into the bed, Spencer was the first one asleep, out cold within seconds. Maeve fell asleep to the gentle hum of his snoring, which wasn't much of a snore and more like a quiet raspy sound. Despite the chaos of their hellish day, this was the perfect ending to any day.

 **Well, that was horrible. But I was kind of trying to make it a little blocky-ish, because that's how I would imagine Reid feel during the day; everything being a massive, crazy blur that he could barely make sense of, and then slowly becoming more understandable and finally the crash of exhaustion.**

 **This probably wont be a story with a steady plot. Probably more like a bunch of one-shots centered around Reid and Maeve because who doesn't ship it? (Although to be honest, I kind of ship Reid with the bartender in that one episode who sent him the card with the lipstick on it, just because the idea of the nerd and the bartender is fun to bounce around.)**

 **Other chapters/stories will hopefully be better. I figure the happier feelings in this story will kind of balance out the less happy feelings in The Gender Game, which you should still go read because who doesn't want to read more about Reid?**


	2. Blindfolds

**Happy stories are not my strong hold, people, so bear (bare?) with me. I will do my hardest to make this story good with as little tragedy as possible. If it gets too sappy, feel free to yell at me, the Supreme Master Overlord Khurro gives you permission to do so.**

 **But really, don't let me get too sappy.**

 **Remember, this does not have to be read in order! It's a bunch of random one-shots, read them in order if you want.**

 **This will mainly not happen on the field. Sorry.**

 **I'm not quite sure how to tie Maeve into all the other episodes, so I might just pick the major episodes ("Angels" and "Demons", because come on people, that was a major Reid moment there and we all panicked and maybe cried a little.**

 **This is rated T for a reason. There will be no detailed "sexual intercourse" (as my health teacher puts it, as if that makes it sound any 'cleaner' to our poor 'virgin ears'.), but there will be suggestions and hints and characters may seem a bit out character.**

 **I'm gonna leave you alone now and give you the title chapter and let your little minds play in the gutter, you little butts.**

 **But then read the chapter.**

 **#2**

 **Blindfolds**

Maeve ended up staying with Reid longer than either of them expected, not that anyone was complaining. Reid was actually enjoying having someone to return home to after work and having company during dinner (if he ate, that is. Sometimes he would just crash on the couch), and someone to share a bed with. Without really a verbal exchange, they both sort of agreed that Maeve would simply stay with him, and they went to her old loft and collected her clothes to bring back to his apartment.

There was still shattered glass on the floor, and a small layer of dust had covered everything. She had been gone for a few days, staying with Reid and just borrowing his clothes, which were somewhat big on her. Not by much, but they fit more like pajamas; comfortable.

"It feels weird to be back here." Maeve said quietly, looking around it and shivering.

"No one's cleaned it up." Spencer stated, stepping in ahead of her as he expected Dianne to jump out and attack them.

"No one really knows I've stopped living here." Maeve reminded him. "The last person I talked to besides you was my parents just to let them know I was okay."

"Aren't you supposed to go have dinner with them tonight?" Spencer paused to let her lead the way to her bedroom.

"I was actually hoping you would come with me to meet them." She said, entering her room and pulling out some clothes to put in her bag. "We _have_ been sleeping together for the past week."

"I'd be honored to meet them." He agreed, looking over the few pictures and decorations on her walls and plain dresser. She looked up and watched him wander the room.

"Are you profiling my room?" She asked, eye brow raised.

"I'm not trying to, but it's a bit of habit by now." He said, and looked back at her. "You had a dog as a kid?"

"Yep." She went over to stand next to him were there was a picture of her as a child hugging a large yellow lab. "His name was King, and he was pretty much my only friend growing up. Did you have any pets?"

"No. I used to want a pet when I was little, but I was too busy. I've thought about getting a fish a few times though, but who knows when I'd be called away on a case and not be able to feed it." Reid said absentmindedly. He could remember watching other kids in his neighborhood get puppies or kittens and listening to them talk about them all the time and how they would take care of the animal all by themselves, while he would sit there knowing that he would go home and take care of his mom. Maeve knew about Reid's mother and she knew his father left when he was still young and that he was bullied through most of his school years.

"Does your apartment allow pets?" She asked, causing him to raise an eyebrow suspiciously.

"They allow fish. And that's about it." He replied. She nodded, but didn't say anything else. She went back to throwing clothes in a suit case while Reid sat on her bed and looked around absentmindedly. He was really only there for support, since he had the day off and hadn't been called in on an emergency call yet.

After she got her clothes and a few small personal belongings they headed back to his apartment where he set to work in making room in his dresser for her clothes. It wasn't too hard, since most of his stuff was hanging in a closet instead and his dresser was pretty big. Then they sat on the couch for a while in silence, until Reid fell asleep followed shortly after by Maeve. They woke up from their nap around 5 in the evening, Reid waking up first and finding himself between her and the couch. At some point, she must've pushed him over in her sleep and laid down her him. She was also hugging his arm, which was bent at a rather uncomfortable angle.

He maneuvered himself around until he was laying flat on his back and freed his other arm, gently shaking her awake.

"Five more minutes." She mumbled sleepily, cuddling closer to him. Any other time, he would've enjoyed this. But he needed to use the bathroom and waiting five more minutes didn't seem like a good idea.

"Maeve, I need to get up." He said, shaking her again. She pushed herself up, not seeming to realize he was under her as she put a hand on his stomach and pushed herself up. He grunted in protest and she seemed to realize he was there and pulled her hand away.

"Sorry." She yawned and sat up while he pulled his legs out from behind her and pushed himself into a sitting position, taking a second before he stood up.

"It's five thirty. What time are we supposed to meet your parents for dinner?" He asked as he made his way to the bathroom.

"I told them six. I'll call them and let them know we'll be late." She answer, getting up and looking for her phone. After she called her parents she went into his room to get changed. He was already in there, buttoning up his shirt. At first glance, he looked like a serious buseiness man. But then you would look down and see his mis-matched colorful socks and the seriousness left.

"So why do you wear mismatched socks?" She asked, pulling on a nicer shirt.

"Why not?" He shrugged, pulling his anchor sock up on his left foot. One the right was a blue sock with red stripes.

It was about 45 minutes before they finally were sitting at a table in a middle class Italian restaurant with Maeve's parents across from them.

"So you're the boy keeping my daughter away from us?" Her father asked, his voice a little threatening.

"W-well, no, I'm not keeping her away, she's just staying with me." Reid was a little taken aback. While he had gotten that Maeve's father was protective from when he ahd watched his team question them, he hadn't realized he would be like this.

"Stop it, Joe, you'll scare him!" Her mother, Mary, scolded him, giving him a small smack on the arm.

"I think it'll take more than Dad to scare him." Maeve stated, shooting Reid a glance. Her parents didn't know he was a part of the team that had questioned them not too long ago.

"Well that's still no reason to be rude." Mary stated, glaring at her husband.

"I've been accused of much worse before, it's not a big deal." Reid shrugged.

"So you're a doctor, right? What do you specialize in?" Mary asked, turning her attention to Reid.

"I'm not an actual doctor by that definition, I have three Ph. Ds." He said. "But I do know how to deliver a baby."

" _Three_? What in the world kind of a job do you need _three_ Ph. Ds in?" Joe asked, expression going from warning to shocked.

Reid shrugged. "Nothing, really. It was just something to pass time for a while."

"It's not easy to get those, don't you have to go school for six or seven years or something?" Mary asked.

Spencer shrugged again. He wasn't really liking being the center of attention, but at the same time, everyone likes bragging every once in a while.

"I graduated High school when I was 12, so I had plenty of time left before I could get a good job. So I got in mathematics, chemistry, and engineering." He explained. Maeve's parents looked at each other, then back at him.

"What exactly do you do for a living?" Joe asked.

"I work in the FBI." He said. "Behavioral Analysis unit."

"So you're one of the people who questioned us when Maeve's stalker got her?"

"Not exactly, but I was watching the conversation." He admitted. "I was the one who noticed she was missing."

It took a bit of explaining by Maeve, but her parents caught up finally in what had happened, from her looking at his brain scans to their weekly phone calls, and to him distracting Dianne long enough for his team to get up there and save Maeve. That had calmed Joe down a little, much to Spencer's relief.

"So the FBI, huh? What exactly does the unit you work for do?" Joe asked curiously.

"Study the behavior serial killers mostly, and use that to figure out why those victims, what causes them to kill, and who and where they'll strike next." Spencer explained.

"What made you want to be in the FBI?" Mary asked.

"I just did. It might have been because of a murder that happened a few blocks away from my house when I was child."

"Where'd you grow up?"

"Las Vegas."

"Are you a gambler?" Joe was once again giving him a warning look.

"No, but I have gambled before, but rather than money and in a casino, it's with my team and we're gambling snacks." Spencer stated. "Although I have gone undercover as a gambler and I have won quite a bit of money on the machines."

The waiter came and brought the pizza pie they had ordered, putting the pan in the center of the table. "Need anything else?"

"Garlic powder please." Mary said, and the waited nodded and left to go get it. Taking a slice of pizza, she asked, "So what do your parents do, Dr. Reid?"

Maeve and Spencer both frowned. That wasn't something he really liked to talk about.

"My dad's an accountant and my mom used to be a college professor."

"Used to? Did she retire or get a new job?"

"Kind of…" Reid paused when the waiter came back with the garlic powder and waited until he left. "She has schizophrenia. She stopped taking the medication when she was pregnant with me, and after I was born she stayed home with me. She was never steady enough to go back to work."

"Oh. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." Mary frowned.

"No, it's alright. You wouldn't have known." He shook his head and took a bite of his slice. The rest of the meal was mainly small talk, nothing too heavy. Maeve told them she would be staying with Spencer for a while, and thankfully there wasn't any resistance from her parents. They ate most of the pizza and sent the leftovers home with Reid and Maeve.

"So, I was kind of thinking…" Maeve said as they pulled back up to the apartment.

"And?" Spencer prompted.

"I never got a chance to send a letter before my stalker got me, so you never read it. But in it, I promised to change your opinions on blindfolds."

"Okay…?"

"Maybe I change your opinion on them tonight." She shot him a look and it didn't take much profiling to figure out what she was suggesting.

"Uh, I've never-"

"It's never too late to learn, doctor. Come on." She took his head and lead him upstairs and into his apartment. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened, and in the end, Reid like blindfolds _much_ better.

 **That was a very boring chapter. I apologize.**

 **Give me some suggestions on what to happen next!**

 **I already plan on making them parents at some point in this, but between then and now and during their time as parents what do you guys want to see happen?**


End file.
